1. Make your favorite cut-out cookie recipe and cut one or several sizes of heart shaped cookies. Cut interlocking puzzle connections down the center of the largest cookie(s) using an X-Acto type knife. Bake cookies and let cool.

Tip: While the interlocking puzzle cookies are still warm from the oven, make sure they will fit sufficiently snugly. If they do not, gently carve cookie with a sharp blade until the fit is acceptable.

2. These cookies are iced using the run sugar method; to make icing for this run sugar method, make a batch of royal icing and set aside 1/3 of the regular recipe. Take the remaining 2/3 and thin it down with warm water. To test for correct consistency, drop thinned royal icing from your spatula into the royal icing in the bowl. If the drop disappears by the count of 10, the royal icing has reached correct consistency.

3. Use DecoPac Red Red Premium Gel (Item #45283) to color the run-in icing two shades of pink; just a drop will do. 

4. Use a #3 plain round tube (Item #11022) to pipe outlines using regular white royal icing, as shown. When the outlines have dried slightly, fill in one side of the puzzle with light pink run-in icing, and the other with darker pink run-in icing. Let dry.

5. After your icing has set up, finish with Red Heart Dec-Ons® decorations (Item #14077) and Jumbo Red Heart Quins (Item #46067) attached with a dab of icing. If desired, use red icing in standard consistency in a #3 tip to write a “fitting” message!

Decorating idea courtesy of Lucks

To purchase everything you need to decorate this cookie, click here.